Saving Passion
by PassionBreeze
Summary: Passion Breeze has lived nearly all his life cursed to feel the emotions of those around him. When the princess of the night, the saddest of all the ponies he's ever met, returns to Equestria... will it drive him over the edge? Or will he finally find the peace he's dreamt of for so long? (Beware drama)
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1:

**The Mare In The Moon**

They used to say that on a full moon you can go to the peak of the tallest mountain in Equestria and hear the sobbing of a beautiful mare. In the voice behind her tears you could hear the lament of any and all ponies who have ever felt betrayal or regret. You could hear the sorrow of thousands of ponies in her sobbing.

I used to fly to the top of that very peak every night. I used to wait and listen until the sun rose over the horizon, spraying beautiful washes of orange and gold across the rolling hills of Equestria. Every morning I would fly back to my home in the clouds over Canterlot, longing to ease the tears of that guilt ridden mare. I could never hear them though. After all those nights I never heard tell of those crystal jewels in her eyes.

One morning though the sun didn't rise. Something had changed and I felt it in the air. I felt it in the chilly breeze and the malicious shining of that white gem in the sky. I sat and I waited, fighting to keep my heavy lidded eyes open under the moon. For hours I strained to hear what would give me the prize I'd begged for so long.

Then the sun began to rise. Cheering rose from deep in the Everfree forest below and I decided to give up. I thought that maybe it was all just an old ponytail and as I stood to fly home from that frozen peak for the last time, a soft and terrible sound graced my ears. A tear leaked from my own eye as I heard the sorrow of eons. I looked back to the moon just before it fell over the horizon and saw a sight that struck my heart with fear.

I knew well in my time the shape of a mare in the moon. The craters I'd studied so longingly for all my life, the dark splotches that appeared to be a crying princess, had disappeared from the heavenly jewel of the night. As I listened closer I heard a far off scream. As the strangled terror in her voice faded I knew I had a purpose in my life. I would find that mare again… and I would show her joy as she'd never known.

My cloud home was warm and welcoming when I returned that drowsy morning. I could feel the joy of all of Equestria below me as I alighted on the soft white of my doorstep. A soft glow radiated from the molten pools along the path to my door and the sun shone warmly on my golden coat. The air felt heavenly on my face, but although all felt right in the world below me, I only felt dread in my heart.

My talent was a curse and a gift. I had been gifted with the ability to feel the joy of the world around me and yet cursed with the undying need to ease pain whenever I felt it. I'd known the pain of that mare in the moon since I was born and now that she'd ceased to grace me with her visage I felt the worst sorrow of our lives. She was fearful and sad this morning and I had no clue where to find her.

"You look the same as we feel, Passion Breeze… distraught and sorrowful."

I jumped at the sound of a voice in my home. Few other ponies could reach my doorstep because it was so high. My huge wings we're a boon to my sanity; whenever I became too overwhelmed with the hearts of other ponies I would fly higher than any other Pegasus could and rest in my own home as close to the heavens as possible. Only Celestia or another Alicorn could fly this high and she had promised to stay away from the one solace I owned in this world.

"How do you know my name!?" I shouted to the open air. I couldn't see anypony else but I was sure the voice was real. I was also a bit offended that somepony had come to my home without telling me.

"We've known your name since the first night you came to us young one. We've been watching you on that peak for years."

I was shocked as the form of a blue princess faded into view before me. Her coat glistened like the sky and her main blew in the light breeze, though I'm sure it would have flown gracefully in even the stillest air. She stood almost as tall as Celestia and her eyes seemed joyful, though I could feel her desolation as if it were my own.

"You're the mare in the moon!" I gasped.

"Our name is princess Luna. We've longed to meet you in person for years, Passion Breeze." She smiled and turned walking back to the edge of the clouds, the molten pools of my home casting an amber glow on her coat and violet mane. "You can find us in the garden outside the palace tonight… Don't be late."

Suddenly she vanished; just as quickly as she'd come she had gone. I could no longer feel the sorrow in her heart, but instead I felt jubilation at the sight of her.

"Wait!" I shouted, galloping to the edge of the clouds and peering out into the slowly brightening space. "I only just met you, princess… at least let me say goodbye before you leave." I huffed, indignant at her untimely exit. For all my life I'd wanted to meet the mare in the moon. I'd planned out every sentence and she'd caught me so off guard I'd looked like a foolish little foal.

"So much for rest and relaxation." I breathed. I'd planned on getting some sleep this morning but now all I could think of was her face, so full of hidden sadness. _What happened to her? _I thought as the light wind rustled my fiery mane. I sighed as I turned to enter my quiet home in the sky. "No point dwelling on it." I said, though I knew it wasn't true.

The clouds of my home had been magically condensed by Celestia herself to keep out the thoughts of ponies below. My talent worked like an electrical signal in the air. That is to say the denser the objects between me and another pony the less I felt of their uncontrollable emotions. Distance played no part in my talent but these clouds were so thick any earth pony could jump on them and not fall through.

Another gift from the princess was the glowing red pools that rested in the dark clouds here and there. They were made of some strange liquid that only Celestia herself knew how to find. Whatever it was radiated heat to keep my floating home warm so close to the stars. It also spread a feeling of peace into the air, which was a rare commodity for somepony like me.

As I entered the large cloud house I felt a familiar but long missed sensation wash over me. Years ago my twin sister lived with me here before moving in with her adoptive aunt. Her talent played a perfect opposite to mine; instead of taking in the emotions of others, she spread to those around her the only emotion she'd ever known… Love.

I walked my way to the east tower of my home with an easy bounce in my step. The beautiful mare I sensed in my sanctuary had the tendency to return me to a youthful vigor I'd lost some time ago. The tall tower in the east wing rose higher than any other point in Equestria. A long trail of that same glowing liquid flowed down beside the spiraling stares from a pool in the room at the top. The pool itself never ran out and was somehow rejuvenated in the light of the sun.

The door at the top was gilded in gold and depicted a Giant crystalline heart. It matched Cadence's cutie mark, which I'd never quite understood as long as I'd known her. _A crystal heart? Is there some kind of Crystal Empire that's been locked away for a thousand years? Is my sister some sort of long lost princess?_

I caught myself day dreaming as I stopped to knock at Cadance's door. She had a tendency to make me carefree and giddy… It was unbecoming. At first there was no response at the door, but then a tall alicorn mare appeared in front of me as the golden doors swung open. I may be a simple Pegasus but Cadence was a full grown alicorn and had been adopted as Celestia's niece. I don't know how Cadence got her majestic horn but what she had on me in magic, I more than made up for in the size of my massive, flame colored wings.

"Passion!" Chime Cadence, her voice like fanfare at a royal wedding. "It's been so long! Aunt Celestia finally let me out of the palace after my training. It's so nice to be home again." I knew I had felt something different when Cadence opened the door. Celestia's training had obviously made my sister's magic infinitely more potent, and even now I could feel the waves of peace and beauty washing across me like an ocean breeze. If I didn't control my own powers I might go insane from the flood of her emotions.

"I'm glad your back, sister." I grunted, straining to block her magic from my mind.

My head felt as though it were rested on a bed of nails, constantly trying to stab their way into my brain. Cadence gasped as I fell to the floor, gripping my skull from the sudden spike of power radiating off the pink mare. Obviously between Celestia's fabled training in magic and my own growth in the understanding of ponies' emotions, Cadence's powers had become painfully strong since I'd last seen her.

"Oh, my Celestia!" She gasped, a light blue glow emitting from her horn and covering her body. Just as the terrible pain in my skull had come it left me. "I-I didn't realize… It must be so hard for you…"

A tear trickled down Cadence's face and instantly I felt her pity for me. Pity was the one emotion I couldn't bear to feel. Anyone around me remained happy because I was gifted with the ability to steal their pain. Anyone who looked on me with pity did me a disservice by not appreciating my sacrifice. Before thinking about it I reached out wiped the tear from her eye, grimacing as I did so.

"I-I'm sorry, Passion…" Cadence whispered, some of the blue glow disappearing and washing me in her love again. "I shouldn't have felt that way. I'm glad to have a brother like you, Breezy."

The nickname made me smile. As a foal my wings were far larger than they should have been and I had to be tied down to sleep so that I wouldn't have a nightmare and fly off. Instead of flying away, I would cry and soon I'd be blowing a gale through my bedroom. It became an endearing name, because only Cadence and our parents knew why it had been given to me.

"Thanks, Cady." I smiled. "I've missed you." I paused for a moment as I considered my next words carefully. "What happened with the Sun yesterday?" I'd planned to ask her outright about the strange princess outside, but now I decided to let her tell me and pretend not to know. Obviously, Luna had been a subject of some sort of controversy in Equestria at some point. She'd been banished to the moon, erased from history, and her heart tortured day and night judging by her train wreck of an emotional state. Maybe my sister knew why…

"Nightmare Moon…"

"Who?" I asked, strolling to the giant bay window by the magical pool at the edge of the room. I wanted to play as if my interest in the story was mild, but the name piqued my interest a bit. Surely the beautiful princess wasn't that same ungodly creature.

"The Mare in the Moon." Cadence breathed, dread filling her heart as she said the name. "A wicked mare who wanted to rule Equestria in eternal darkness. Celestia banished her to the moon, but now she's returned after a thousand years. Celestia's star student, Twilight… you've heard of her right?"

"You may have mentioned her on a past visit." I sighed, staring down nonchalantly at the white city far below us.

"She and five of her friends managed to find the Elements of Harmony. It turns out their actually legendary magic jewels."

I scoffed at yet another old legend. "Tell me why I haven't ever heard any of these odd legends you keep talking about, sis."

Cadence giggled at my mock ignorance. "You don't come down from here much, Passion."

"For good reason." I mumbled. I knew my gloomy disposition might seem rude to my sister, but I was troubled at the moment. While Cadence's retelling was dreary enough, as she continued to explain the finer details of the elements and of this Nightmare Moon character, I felt a wave of agony flare up from the palace down in Canterlot. I also couldn't seem to shake the fear in my own heart. The fear of what Cadence was about to say.

"…So you see." Cadence rambled. "Nightmare Moon is actually Princess Luna; Celestia's sister and ruler of the night."

As cadence finished her story I felt a sharp pain thrust itself into my temple. It was the same feeling I'd felt from Luna earlier, except that now it felt as though the emotions had become a white-hot poker driving into my brain. Cadence's intense power had barely compared to this. As the pain drove me to the floor I began to shriek in agony.

"Passion Breeze!" Cadence shouted, her horn flashing bright blue and washing me in an easy feeling. Though the pain was still piercing into my head, I was able to think through it with Cadence's help. "What happened?"

"The princess…" I growled, struggling back up to my hooves. "Something's wrong."

"Aunt Celestia?"

"No!" I shouted as I felt the dark princess' crushing pain course through me again. "Something's wrong with Luna!"

I didn't really know what drove me to want to sacrifice everything for a mare I barely knew, but without thinking, my instincts drove me over the ledge and towards Canterlot. Luna couldn't be that same monster from Cadence's story; Nightmare Moon was a monster who felt no remorse or sorrow… Only hate and joy at others' pain.

I fell like a bullet towards the ground as Luna's pain drew me in. I barely heard Cadence's screams as the wind ripped through my mane. The small pond in the castle gardens drove towards me as my sister's spell wore off and I began to black out. As I felt the water pound into me like a stampede of stallions I realized that I'd made a serious mistake.

In all my years since I'd learned of my talent, I'd only ever felt solid ground beneath my hooves once. I remembered the day like a fresh wound and the last thing I remembered as my senses left me was that sacred rule I lived by. Both Earth and daylight held a dark place in my memories. Daylight meant the waking thoughts of ponies across Equestria and being on the ground erased all barriers between us.

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**I'll answer any questions you all have through PMs and I may put some of those answers here if they're relevant to the story and not me in general. I stopped using my other FanFic account because some people made some rude comments about my writing and nobody wanted to review so I kind of lost interest for a while. No I won't tell you what the account was and no I won't repost any of those stories here. I will, however promise to bring you quality writing and to keep this account alive, granted I have anything to show for it. I love hearing feedback or at least some sort of acknowledgement that my writing is up to par with your standards. I enjoy writing but when I'm the only one enjoying it I don't see how it's worth it to post here. On the flip side I tend to be a bit more enthusiastic and write more when I get some sort of feedback, even when it's negative. I don't want to say I rely on my readers to get anything done but it does help when they acknowledge my work in some way, shape or form. Well, enough of me ranting. Chapter 2 is already written but I still need it proofread by the guy who proofreads all my work. I'll post it tomorrow.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! EVEN IF IT'S JUST TO SAY GOOD CHAPTER! It doesn't matter if it reads well to ME. I posted it for YOU.**

**Sorry if I'm coming off as rude right now. I just wanted to get all this out of the way. Also, I especially appreciate reviews from other authors...**

**ENJOY! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**To godzillafan1: Yes, Passion Breeze is Cadence's brother. I haven't personally read the MLP comics so i'm running much of their relationship and backstory off of my own headcannon. I'll stay true to the TV series but anything that doesn't add up about Cadence with the comics is because I don't really know them other than what i've heard. That said, Cadence and Passion Breeze grew up together until Passion discovered his talent to feel others' emotions. When he discovered his talent Celestia presented him with a home in the sky so that he could live far away from the ponies of Equestria. Obviously the only ponies that can reach his home are Alicorns and so she still comes to visit him. Given that Passion Breeze grew up on land he has vague memory of many ponies from Equestria, especially in Canterlot, which was his childhood home. Expect plenty of Cameos and thanks for the review.**

**PassionBreeze**

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Chapter 2:

**Moonlight Symphony**

I woke in a dark room sometime in the night. A cool breeze drifted in through an open window and the moon shone lightly on my golden coat. The atmosphere of the strangely decorated room was in fact quite peaceful and inspired a drowsy haze in my mind. Despite the calming effects of this place I felt entirely unnerved. Vivid visions flickered in front of my eyes as I saw clearly the dreams of sleeping ponies.

All my life I'd lived by a single rule; never touch the ground. An odd talent like mine came with odd rules. Whenever I touched something any other pony was touching at the time, I could immediately read every thought in their hectic mind. At any given time, billions of ponies planted their hooves on the soil of Equestria, and here I was joining every last one of them.

I shuddered as a cold wind blew in from the window behind the soft bed beneath me. I couldn't see well through the flashing images before my eyes, but I could faintly make out a midnight blue pony with a flowing mane. A soft blue light radiated from her body before the visions faded, and then I beheld the true glory of the royal family. Celestia herself was an image of regal beauty and power. To see the prime ruler of Equestria was a gift to anypony. She was larger than life and held a certain dominating image that inspired awe and respect.

Her sister, however, presented a different image. She wasn't so intimidating and huge, but what she lacked in size she made up for in her regal form. The night princess was slender, yet her natural stance was that of a born hunter. The moon represented the low light of night and the fearful things within, waiting to pounce at a moment's notice. Luna herself was strung like a bow, her body taught and straight, demanding attention. Her eyes were stunningly soft, and yet they held a certain acuity to them that threw you off guard if you looked straight at them.

A single tear rolled down from one eye before she turned to a mirror in one corner of the large bedroom. "We told you to meet us tonight in the garden, not noon at the bottom of a pond… You were foolish to betray yourself like you did…" Her stern voice belied none of the pain underneath. "No matter the reason."

"You were hurting." I whispered. "I felt it so strongly… I didn't think."

I lifted myself up and climbed down to the floor beside her. As my hooves touched the ground another spike of pain attacked my brain, but only briefly.

"You're no use to this kingdom if you die." She breathed. For a moment it seemed as if her voice was wavering. As she spoke again, though, it held its usual commanding tone. "You'd let yourself die to save those you care for?"

"Of course, princess."

The princess scoffed at my quick answer. "…and then you'd be lost to them. Is that not a deeper wound?"

"Why are we having this conversation, Princess?"

At first she didn't answer, merely shuffling through a few items in the drawers below the mirror. After a few seconds of searching she lifted a simple necklace, decorated with a simple circular, white stone.

"You've been cursed to take the cares of the entire world on your own shoulders, Passion Breeze." She sighed, her eyes softening and a deep and hidden depression beginning to fill her heart. As she continued the archaic tongue that was her signing escaped her. "I would understand that you might dive from a cloud to spare yourself my pain… but to do so that I may be spared my own punishments? It baffles me the generosity you would give to one such as me."

I was utterly confused by her strange speech. She had a way of hinting at the real point of a conversation, and then beating the idea down before you could guess her true thoughts. "Punishment, princess?"

Instead of answering outright, she changed tact once again; this time holding the strange necklace before my eyes. "This is a moonstone." She said. "The prized jewel of my night holds a mysterious power. Its chiseled stone slightly saps power from one's innate talent. My sister sent me to the moon of all places to stop me from being able to control it. I was imprisoned within the very tool I'd planned to use against her."

"I don't understand." I whispered, taken aback by her sudden confessions. "What did you do?"

Another small tear escaped her eye as she spoke. This time she didn't try to hide it. "I was jealous of my sister and enraged by the fear of the ponies under my moonlight. Instead of humbling myself to my subjects I decided to strike true fear into their hearts. A proud stallion by the name of Bright Star lead a rebellion against me, ultimately allowing my sister to banish me."

"Bright Star?" I breathed. As I heard the name I realized where this story would lead. The stallions in my family passed down a story of our patron, Bright Star, who fought against Nightmare Moon herself and was cursed for his treachery to the one he loved. How had I not figured it out before?

"Before my banishment, I placed a curse on that stallion, forcing him and all the stallions in his family to suffer the pain of all those near to them."

"It's because of you." I breathed. Turning to the window again.

Silence fell over the space between us for a moment. Here was the princess I'd longed all my life to meet. I'd dreamt for so long of easing her pain only to find that she herself had been the cause of mine. I even distrusted my own sister's words out of a foolish infatuation for a mare I'd never met. The monster I'd resented all my life, Nightmare Moon, stood just before me, talking as if we were merely old friends sharing secrets. For the first time in my life I considered the possibility of leaving her to her fate.

When the princess spoke to me again, her odd diction had returned. "We understand that thou must wish the pain thou sense upon us. We more than deserve the agony of our own memories and mistakes…"

"Hmph…" I jumped to the ledge as her voice trailed off once again, betrayed by my own heart for so many years.

"Before thou should leave, we would plea you take this gift… to ease thy pain."

Before I could take off from the window, the small white stone slid down before my eyes, the chain clasping behind my neck. As soon as the moonstone touched my skin I could no longer sense the princess' agonized heart. The effect was amazing; a silence I hadn't felt since I was a small colt. I couldn't believe the empty space in my own head and the bliss she'd given me, but even still, I couldn't bring myself to forgive her… or even thank her. I wouldn't give mercy or even spare compassion for this evil creature.

Instead I leapt from the window and gave a single flap of my wings in dismissal to her cry for peace between us. I'd grown to know well the tale of nightmare moon and her evil treachery, and yet I'd been convinced all my life to feel compassion for that same monster. As soon as my wings caught the air beneath them, I sped off towards the communal district here in the city.

As a colt, before my cutie mark indicated my talent and forbade any common interaction, I'd lived here in Canterlot with Cadence and our mother. The anger I felt inside threatened to poison my mind, and the communal district was once my favorite place in the world. Hopefully it hadn't changed since I'd last seen it. Maybe it would bring back some memories that were actually pleasant.

My wings gusted against the cobblestone as I came to a rest next to the huge fountain in the giant ring of towers and white buildings. Ponies cleared out of the way of the gale conjured by my feathers, whispering and staring in my direction. I didn't feel any embarrassment or even a pegasus' pride as my hooves touched the street though. Instead I felt melancholic at the sight of the large fountain before me. It had been here…

I sat beside the giant fountain with my sister and played a simple clapping game with the violet foal she'd been watching recently. The air was cool and comforting, though I was still a bit edgy from school. My wings had grown another half a foot this month, and if the growing pain wasn't bad enough, I was constantly receiving stares and whispers from other colts and even full grown stallions and mares. The fillies in class weren't as bad, but none of them really spoke to me in the first place.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake!" I sang, jumping up and down with the young filly before me. "You're so much fun, Twilight, I'm glad I know a filly as smart and sweet as you…"

"I'm not sweet!" she shouted. "I'm big and tough, just like my bwudder!"

"Yea, Twilie." Shining Armor laughed, raising Cadence up onto his shoulders, "Big and Tough."

Twilight stared in awe at her brother as he lifted Cadence with ease. He'd recently started training to join the royal guard, and seemed to get bigger every day. As Twilight ran over to play with her brother, a commotion rang out from around the amphitheatre on the south end of the giant communal district. Some sort of orchestral group had been playing earlier that night and a guest cello player had been given the stage. She was just a filly, in fact one from my class who'd just earned her cutie mark; a large treble clef for being so talented with her cello.

Anyway, she'd been playing beautifully all night, but now she galloped by crying and some unicorn filly over by the stage held a broken cello in her hooves. Without thinking I flapped my wings, instantly springing up over the crowd and dove down to land next to her. Her coat was a bright sunset orange and her cutie mark was a red and orange sun.

"And who are you?" she demanded as the crowd spread out around us. "What's with the wings, huh? Mommy got you taking steroids or something?"

"Why'd you break the cello, huh?" I demanded, snatching the instrument from her hooves.

"I was getting tired of that talentless filly scraping my ears with her noise." She laughed remorselessly. "So I did something about it."

Before I could respond to the vile filly and regret it, another small pony stepped up from the crowd and stood next to me. Her coat was white and her messy mane different shades of blue. She hadn't earned her cutie mark yet but a large pare of headphones hung around her neck. She was one of the few fillies who talked to me in school, partly for her love of all things and ponies that were just… not normal I guess.

"You got a problem with Passion, Sunset?" Vinyl laughed, easily shooting down the smaller filly's arrogance.

I interrupted before the orange filly, who I now recognized as Sunset Shimmer, could respond. "She broke Octavia's new cello."

Vinyl didn't even look in Sunset's direction as she grabbed the cello from me and stomped off. "Come on, Passion." She called over her shoulder, "Filthy bullies like her aren't worth wasting time on."

She was right; all of us at school knew Sunset was just plain, evil scum. I wanted to believe it wasn't true, but she'd never really shown otherwise. I turned and followed Vinyl back to where Octavia was hiding by the music shop on the north side of the square. She was sitting there crying and hiding her face behind her charcoal hair. Vinyl was hugging her and rubbing her back when I got there.

I wasn't really thinking straight after the run in with Sunset so without considering it too much, I walked right through the door into the music shop. I'd been saving up my allowance for some new books for Twilight, but Cadence could do that. Instead I walked right up to the counter and dug two hundred bits out of my saddlebags, tossing them on the counter. Before I knew what I was doing I walked back out the door and held a brand new cello out to Octavia.

She'd barely laid eyes on it before her lips were on mine. In that moment I felt her joy as if it were my own. It was so vivid that I could automatically tell that the feeling was radiating from her body. Within seconds I was curled up on the cobblestone screaming as if my entire body had been set ablaze. I'd never felt so much gut wrenching agony in my life. Thousands of ponies' emotions had flooded their way into my mind and were overloading my senses. It was as if someone were dragging dragon claws down the side of a roughly cut diamond, ripping my senses to shreds.

I started to black out and my thoughts left me. Before I lost sight though, I saw something peculiar in the sky. The craters that drew the shape of a unicorn mare in the moon shifted to make her smile and a spark flashed across her eyes as an eerie symphony reached my ears. Then I fell into nothingness…

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**Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I didn't get much time to proofread this so if you find anything wrong with it (anything you don't understand) please let me know and i'll fix it as best I can. I'm working on the next chapter right now, and Passion is about to be reunited with an old friend i'm sure you'll love. Stay tuned. :)**

**PassionBreeze**


	3. Chapter 3

**To godzillafan1: Yes, Bright Star is Passion Breeze's ancestor. However, even more than carrying a thousand year old curse from the princess, Passion's connection to her goes even deeper than that. I'll be giving you a very juicy bit in the chapter after this one explaining that connection so just keep on reading.**

**To Bowenross (and anyone else who's wondering): I don't get writer's block very often but the computer i'm using isn't actually mine, which is why i'm hustling to post as many chapters as possible before someone else decides to keep it for a few days. As long as I have this computer in my possession you can expect a couple of chapters a week at least.**

**In response to an anonymous PM: Passion Breeze is personal OC. I don't have a picture of him other than one I drew which I won't give a link to due to my terrible artistic ability. I paint beautiful pictures with words (me and my big head) but not so much with a brush. As soon as I can I will get someone to do a decent redrawing of him that does his massive wings a bit of justice. (they're about one and a half times the size of Celestia's wings. He's the same height as Big Macintosh but he's more thin and long because he's a pegasus. He's a dull gold color and his mane and wings are a spectrum of red, orange and metallic gold. His mane reaches down to his knees and is braided down one side and his tail is braided as well. The reason for his rediculous proportions is because he has Alicorn blood in him but before anyone freaks out about Mary Su OCs, no he will never turn into an Alicorn, no he's not faster than Rainbow Dash, and no he's not long lost royalty. He's an "ordinary" pegasus with an odd talent.)**

**Now without further ado, back to Saving Passion**

**PassionBreeze**

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Chapter 3:

**The Dark Side Of The Moon**

I snapped back from the memory to find that the original crowd in the Communal district had made its way down to the south section. The amphitheatre was still the same as I remembered it, even down to the pristine statues of the princesses over the glass ceiling. Even the music shop from that night was still open with the same bench outside where I'd given Octavia her cello.

Obviously some kind of party was taking place by the amphitheatre, and I was sure it was just the thing to lighten my sour mood. A drink might be nice too…

As I stepped to the front of the crowd I came face to face with an old friend of mine. Her coat was a sky blue and her mane and tail was a wash of all the hues I could imagine. Even her cutie mark, showing a single cloud and a multicolored lightning bolt, displayed her carefree and energetic personality for all to see.

"Hey!" She shouted as I bumped into her on accident, "Why don't you watch where you're going pal!?"

Admittedly Rainbow Dash was one of the brashest mares I'd ever met in my life, even as a filly, but she was also the first to risk her life for a friend. That at least was something we both shared.

"Well, hello to you too, Rainbow Crash." I laughed as the crowd roared again. I saw now what the entire populace of Canterlot had come here to see. I also realized how arrogant my entrance may have seemed as the Wonderbolts finally stole the attention of the crowd back from my massive wings.

Rainbow's eyes lit up as she turned to look me full on. At first she'd seemed as though she'd make a scene over the name I'd called her. As she recognized me though, a wide grin split her features.

"Passion Breeze!?" Rainbow laughed, throwing her hooves around my neck. "If you were anypony else I'd have put a hoof through your teeth for that. I haven't seen you since…"

"Octavia." I interrupted, remembering the interaction happily. Before I'd moved to my home in the sky, Rainbow Dash had visited me at the palace where Celestia had taken me after my… episode. In one of her softer moments, she'd given me a kiss on the cheek before 'granting me with her respect' and telling me never to mention the meeting again.

"Octavia, that's right!" Shouted Rainbow Dash. The crowd was beginning to die down as the Wonderbolts finished their performance with Spitfire dive bombing the stage and disappearing into a trap door we couldn't see from ground level. The crowd cheered wildly before going back to their nightly routines and enjoying the glittering scenery of Canterlot. "Where have you been, Passion? Nopony from school's heard from you since that night."

I could have sworn, I heard a bit of trepidation in her voice as she pried into my life, like she had some ulterior motive for asking. With the moonstone around my neck, though, I couldn't tell. "I couldn't come near the ground after that." I sighed, looking at the cobblestones in embarrassment… something else I hadn't felt in years. "Now I have this though." I smiled, showing off the white stone. "I can't feel it anymore."

"What is it?"

"Moonstone." I laughed, though I refused to explain what it did or where it was from. I was still reconciling a life of lies…

"Well, since you're here, you should come hang with me." Rainbow laughed, brushing off my depressing story nonchalantly. "I'm going to go kick it with the Wonderbolts and I'm sure they'd love to see those wings."

I laughed for real for the first time in years as I followed Rainbow Dash around the back of the amphitheatre. She had a way of making even the darkest of situations seem lighthearted and easy. Like she could handle anything and she made you feel like you could too. It was a feeling I wasn't used to.

I took the city in for the first time since I'd landed near the fountain back in the north section of the district. The white spires rose so far to the heavens they seemed to bend over you, and yet the communal district was so huge and open, being the part of Canterlot that housed everything from simple sweet shops to five star diners, that you felt as though you could see for miles. The architecture also had a way of drawing your eyes to the sky, where billions of stars glistened brightly, painting a picture even more beautiful than the shining city.

Rainbow Dash lead me through a door in the side of the huge stage, which opened right out into the district so that any show could be viewed all the way in the back. Underneath the stage, which spanned a good two hundred yards across the south wall of the district, a giant prep room opened into the ground under the entire district.

Most of the shops in the district stored supplies in basements under the street right in front of their doors, but the prep room reached all the way back to the fountain a good four hundred yards out. Most of the communal districts floor was actually a trap door that could be pulled back to make an even bigger stage. Usually for larger celebrations like the Summer Sun Festival the floor would retract under the amphitheatre stage and allow giant shows to be put on for the crowd, who would take to the rooftops instead.

The Wonderbolts had set up shop for the weekend right under the amphitheatre, so they were right there unwinding when we walked in. Spitfire herself walked right up to Rainbow Dash and the two started chatting like old friends. As a young colt, I'd always wanted to see the underside of the district, but had never gotten the chance. Since I probably wouldn't get another one, I decided to take a stroll through the prep room instead of just hanging around.

Props from different seasonal celebrations, like nightmare night or hearth's warming eve, were stored in the huge, cavern like space. The prep room was sort of like a maze, making it easy to get lost in my own thoughts as I walked along in between giant scarecrows and mountains of red and green holiday lights.

Being on the ground again was an odd but welcome feeling. Solid earth just didn't feel the same as clouds and it didn't move on its own. The knowledge that this gift of peace in my own head was only possible because of that monstrous mare only brought that same spitting rage to the fore of my thoughts. I stopped before a large mirror, probably for some sort of trick or illusion, and glared at the white stone resting below my throat. I cursed the princess as I studied it… she'd brought me too much pain to ask my forgiveness.

Without thinking I reared back and slammed my hooves into the mirror, shattering it so that the pieces fell to the floor, throwing reflections of holiday lights around the small pocket of open space in the prep room. White light flared up behind me as the last bits of glass clinked against the ground. At first I thought it was just another reflection, but then I saw the shadow of a true goddess standing behind me.

"So that monster that cursed us…" I breathed, gritting my teeth in near uncontrollable fury. "She was your own flesh and blood."

"I didn't keep such an important secret from you willingly."

"But you kept it nonetheless…"

"There are many faults a ruler must accept in herself in order to rule justly, Passion Breeze." Celestia whispered, placing a hoof on my shoulder. "The betrayal of one's own blood is one of them…"

I sighed as I learned yet another of Nightmare Moon's treacheries. Not just betraying the princess of Equestria, but now I knew the two to be sisters as well.

Celestia sighed as she peered at herself in a shard of glass. Her eyes were watery and she seemed uneasy on her own hooves. "You must think that I mean to say Luna committed some sort of treason against me." She sighed… "Unfortunately it's the other way around."

My breath caught in my throat. I knew it was petty and begrudging, but I couldn't bear the thought of Luna not being the antagonist in any altercation she might be a part of. Chalk it up to my upbringing that there was no good in Nightmare Moon in my mind, and there never would be.

"I was foolish and young at the time." The princess continued, this time turning to walk ahead of me and not bothering to wait for me to follow. "I thought there could be no wrong in my kingdom, but I was naïve, and committed the worst crime of all…"

I struggled to keep up with Celestia as she strode further into the maze of decorations and props. I myself was quite large by any normal stallion's standards, but the princess towered over everypony, her long legs giving her a near unmatchable pace.

"I turned my back on Luna." She continued. "I let myself be blinded by my own false glory. I left her to suffer in the shadows as I basked in the praise of our subjects. Luna would always be my first priority, but as I lost sight of what truly mattered to me, she began to hate what I was becoming."

"You mean to tell me that attempting to enslave a kingdom through fear and destroy the hearts of its people is justifiable?" I laughed, a cynical tone creeping into my voice. "If you truly believe that you disserved what she put you through, then I won't try to tell you otherwise, but you aren't the only one she hurt."

"You are so lost, young one." Celestia whispered, a tear falling to the floor as she hid her face in her hair. I didn't need my powers to feel her pain. Somehow she truly believed that my agony until now was her own fault. "Luna was once the most compassionate mare I'd ever known. She would go out of her way to bring joy and peace to her subjects. She took such great care and strife to paint the night in thousands of jewels every evening. She positioned everything just right so that anypony who might walk out their door would look up and bask in their own private heaven."

Celestia stopped as we reached the pipes underneath the fountain at the far end of the communal district. Water sprayed from small spaces between the junctions in the plumbing, creating a mist that glistened against the princess' white coat. The image would be beautiful and surreal were it not for our present topic of conversation

"After a while though, the ponies ceased to walk out their doors at night. Instead they bathed themselves in the warmth of the sun and cast Luna off much as I had. We'd all betrayed her, and that betrayal made her the vile creature you've grown to hate so vehemently." Celestia smiled and looked back to me, staring me in the eyes as if trying to convey some life altering message. "She sounded just like you before the end. Cursing us all for putting her through such pain…"

"You're trying to tell me that your sister and I are one and the same, right?" I laughed. "Well, it's not true princess. She tried to enslave the ones who had betrayed her… I simply walked away from the mare who cursed me." I turned to walk back the way I'd come, but as I did so, Celestia said something that tore my heart.

"Is it so different the way you turned your back on her? Would it not feel the same?"

* * *

**I know this chapter is a bit short, but I thought that was a good place to stop, not to mention some juicy drama in the next chapter. I hope I did as well with this chapter as I did the last two because I felt like I spent quite a bit of time focusing on Celestia's complicated monologue. Then again, when does Celestia ever have a two sided conversation with anypony? I hope you enjoyed that heart felt confession that you all already knew about. Loving the reviews so far. godzillafan1, i'm glad you have such an interest in Passion Breeze. I try to make his character a little more... mysterious, i guess. Due to living a life without much social interaction he has a hard time interacting with others unless he can feel their emotions outright. I plan for him to grow as a character throughout the story but right now we're in the process of breaking down a few rough layers in his personality. To put it simply, he naturally distrusts other ponies. **

**Well, once again, please review and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**PassionBreeze**


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